Season 3: Chapter 43: Auction (2)
The strategy of the Demian Association fundamentalists was as followed.
"Since Almond has plenty of points, he must have found things he wants to buy. If there are things he wants, there's no reason to hesitate."
They planned to recommend auction items that would catch Almond's interest, getting him to participate in auctions for items other than the bow.
Of course, these recommendations could possibly not work, but they speculated that Almond would definitely try to buy something since he owned a whopping ten thousand points and these points mean nothing after today.
"Since we need to spend the points quickly, he'll participate right away even if he only wants something a little. Then, we start participating systematically."
Once Almond started bidding on products other than the bow, they would systematically drive up the prices.
"If we can take out at least a thousand points per item, we have a chance."
"A thousand?"
"At least five hundred."
The other members felt unsettled.
Almond had eleven thousand points, so it was nothing for him. However, second place had only 2,600 points. Considering the tremendous gap, a thousand points could not be easily spent.
It was practically all their assets, and most didn't even have a thousand points.
"What can we do?"
They had no choice. If David was to face Goliath, he had to risk his life.
"If we buy the bow, I'll hang it in the association's showcase as everyone's, except for those damned secularists."
"... Deal."
With unnecessarily solemn looks, they started the auction.
"They took the bait."
The nibbles started coming in from the second item. They hadn't even seen the first item's shadow when they started enacting their plan.
"Go in."
The fundamentalists began driving up the prices.
"Ah! A raise of a hundred at once!? It's at 400 now! Do we have 410?!"
The price of the demolition expert statue was already at 410 points, a price practically no one wanted.
"At least five hundred. At least."
However, they were not looking at the value of the product. They were looking at how much they could take from Almond. Even if they couldn't reach a thousand, they had to take out at least five hundred to have a chance.
"Do we have 410?"
Almond needed to call 410 for the auction to continue.
'Please take the bait.'
'Bite. You have plenty of money.'
If he didn't take this bait, another fundamentalist member would bid three more times to extend the auction.
'He must have wanted it.'
They believed that Almond would bite at least one more time.
"410! Number 14! He's back in! Then, do we have 420!?"
"!"
Done.
Number 14, Almond, had raised it to 410.
"Do we have 420?!"
One of the fundamentalists raised their hand.
Click!
"Aha! Number 92! It goes up to 420! 430?"
Click!
A signboard shot up from the other side.
"Ah! Number 14! Once again 430! Oh, no, 450!?"
From the other side, someone had raised it to 450 at once.
A smile curled on the lips of the fundamentalists. Indeed... Almond had too much money and couldn't gauge the situation right now. He was desperate to get whatever he wanted.
"Number 92! Raises to 460!?"
Once again, the fundamentalist raised it by 10 points. From then on, it was best to turn it into a duel between the two of them. A battle of egos between the two would draw more attention and become fiercer than others joining in.
Click!
Sure enough, a response came immediately.
"Number 14! 470! It's up to 470 now!"
A scene where a single demolition expert statue soared to 470 points.
At that moment, all the stakeholders were laughing. Those who wanted Raina’s bow felt happy because they were properly diversifying.
The secularists hoping for a rise in the price of Raina's bow were like, 'Wow. As expected, everything is hot. The bow's price will be crazy too.'
Click!
Ju-Hyeok's signboard shot up again.
"500!! Number 14! He bids 500!"
When the price suddenly skyrocketed to 500.
"Do we have 510!?"
Only a serene silence followed.
A broad grin twitched on the lips of the fundamentalists.
"5! 4! 3! 2…"
The response was the same even as the time quickly counted down. Originally, spending more than 300 points on that item didn't make sense.
"… 1! Congratulations! Number 14! You've won the demolition expert statue! We’re sending the exchange voucher now…"
Ding!
The auction winner appeared on the screen. His points were immediately settled, and an exchange voucher was sent to him.
Unlike a typical auction where one would gather additional funds after winning, they used an immediate payment system here.
If the auction starting at 9:30 P.M. were conducted like a typical auction, they would have to spend the night here.
"Now, that was an exciting start, wasn't it!? The next item is…"
***
— Walnut miserably fails lol
— Is this right???
— A strategy to get hit first lol
"… Huh?"
Ju-Hyeok had bought the demolition expert statue for 500 points. The viewers were busy mocking him.
Sang-Hyeon also looked incredulously at the exchange voucher that had been sent to him. The image of Terry the demolition expert's statue was spinning around like an outdated NFT ad that was a fad ten years ago.
'The second highest has 2,600 points.'
Sang-Hyeon wasn't a fool. He had done the math. If second place only had 2,600 points, then Sang-Hyeon had to be considered almost divine.
'500 points... that's 20%, right?'
He had just spent 20% of second place’s points on this demolition expert statue. While the statue wasn't worthless, Sang-Hyeon personally didn't like the character much. He was too noisy and distracting.
"Ah. This was just a taste. We had to give in unavoidably," Ju-Hyeok noticed Sang-Hyeon's gaze and informed him.
"That, that's right…?"
Ju-Hyeok had claimed earlier that it was all according to plan.
— Agent Walnut deployed lol
— Agent? Which plan is this?
— "According to plan" lol
— Do all nuts act this way? lol
— Mirror therapy lol
"Trust me. It's necessary."
"Alright..."
It seemed that Ju-Hyeok let himself get pushed to the limit to gauge how far they would go with Sang-Hyeon, pretending to be oblivious. There was really no need for this.
"Ugh..."
Sang-Hyeon grimaced again as he looked at the photo that appeared on his phone.
— Why do you hate it so much? lol
— Wake up, Sang-Hyeon!
— Trust the manager a bit
— He just hates the demolition expert lol srsly lol
— Ah, so cute lol
As Sang-Hyeon groaned at the sight of the demolition expert, Ju-Hyeok chuckled and patted his shoulder.
"Hey. We have ten thousand points. Ten thousand. Why worry about just 500?"
"… Okay."
— Okay lol
— Reluctantly okay lol
— Just trust Walnut~!
In truth, Sang-Hyeon wasn't really paying attention to how many points he had left. He didn’t truly appreciate their value since he had gained them so easily. It was merely the thought of an unnecessary item added to his home that unsettled him.
"Alright. Next up. Watch closely."
Ju-Hyeok lifted the signboard again.
"100!"
"Wow, he raises by 100 again!?"
Ju-Hyeok raised it by 100, and the opponent did not hesitate.
"Number 51! 110!"
The opponent followed suit. Ju-Hyeok widened the gap again.
"Another raise! Number 14! So aggressive! Next? Number 51! Comes in!"
"Number 14! 210!"
"Number 51! 220!"
"Number 14! 230!"
The race to raise the price continued between them.
It wasn’t clear to onlookers, but a certain intense heat could be felt from nearby. A heat was emanating from Ju-Hyeok.
Before long, the price had once again crossed the 400 line.
"Number 14! 460!"
"Number 51! 470!"
"Number 14! 480!"
Ju-Hyeok called 480 and then spoke to Sang-Hyeon.
"Look."
The auctioneer was now looking for someone to call 490. Or, more precisely, he was looking toward Ju-Hyeok.
"490! Do we have 500?"
This item was not much different from the demolition expert statue. It wasn't something Sang-Hyeon particularly wanted, and it certainly wasn't worth 500 points in real value.
If not for Ju-Hyeok, no one else would bid. Ju-Hyeok did not raise the signboard and remained still.
The auctioneer began the countdown.
"5, 4, 3…"
Surely, winning an item at an auction was a good thing. Somehow, there was a visible tension coming from number 51, who had been continuously competing.
As the count decreased, his complexion turned pale.
"… 1! Number 51! Congratulations!"
A reluctant expression was captured on the large screen.
— Lololololol
— Lmao
— Serves him right lol
Ju-Hyeok lifted his camera toward the screen.
"Look at that expression."
Click.
Ju-Hyeok giggled as he took the photo. On his phone was a fundamentalist with a disgusted expression.
"I just let them win earlier to see where their limit was."
— I trusted you! Walnut!
— Wow!
— Forbes's worst doll ever: Nutcracker
— Gotcha lol
— Who doubts Walnut!? Who doubts Walnut!?
Indeed, Ju-Hyeok had initially raised the bids to check their psychological limits. He needed to know approximately when they would back out so he could smoothly pull out right in front of them. It was a strategy that fully utilized the fact that Almond had ten thousand points.
"Next time, they won't stop at 500. They'll try to lower it. There's a risk."
Having fled at 500 this time, they would likely plan their own strategies. Ju-Hyeok calculated even that, preparing for the next move.
"Watch this one too."
Ju-Hyeok smiled confidently, resembling a savvy New York trader pulling the lever effortlessly. Indeed, his personality matched that description. If he thought something was necessary, he would boldly invest and reap greater benefits.
His role as Sang-Hyeon's manager was surely part of such calculated decisions. Tasks that others couldn't easily undertake or manage, Ju-Hyeok did as naturally as breathing. It was something inherent, different from Sang-Hyeon's ability to remain calm in any situation through repeated training.
"It's amazing."
Sang-Hyeon had always marveled at Ju-Hyeok's abilities and temperament. He had never seen such a personality before. Perhaps it was due to how they were raised.
‘It must be because of our different backgrounds.’
Although Sang-Hyeon had a rather cool personality, his childhood was shadowed by deep poverty. Although he was now out of that shadow, a stain once set did not easily fade. Poverty always lurked in the shadows, ready to reclaim its owner at any moment.
‘Ju-Hyeok is different.’
It was always apparent, but it felt particularly so now. Ju-Hyeok had a special light within him. That light was deep inside him. No matter how much the exterior decayed, it did not extinguish. In fact, the more the exterior crumbled, the brighter it shone.
Sang-Hyeon didn't know what it was. He could only guess that it was something diametrically opposed to the shadows he carried.
Ju-Hyeok himself seemed to consider his background as another kind of shadow, but such a radiant shadow was unique.
"Golden boy..."
Sang-Hyeon snickered as he watched Ju-Hyeok enthusiastically raise the signboard.
In the next auction, Ju-Hyeok stopped at 450 instead of 490. The opponent was caught off guard.
"460! Does anyone have 460!? If not, it goes to number 92!"
As the auctioneer started the countdown, number 92 looked as if he was facing a death sentence countdown.
"… 2, 1! Congratulations! Number 92!"
Thud.
The expression captured on the screen was perfectly ripe.
— Both of them down lol
— Wow lol
— That was awesome lol
From then on, Ju-Hyeok completely dominated the flow of the auction no matter how many fundamentalists attacked or at what timing they tried to withdraw.
There were only two outcomes for them. Either they backed out without any harm or they fell out having suffered a great loss.
Yes, Ju-Hyeok had toyed with them all, escaping from the bids with a thrilling tightrope walk.
"Ah! Congratulations number 92! Another win!"
"Congratulations! Number 31! You've won!"
"Wow! You're on a roll! Number 31 wins again!"
— Lololol
— Everyone's doomed
— Wasting even 100 points is a pity, but they spent 4-500 lol
— What now lol lol lol
— Is this dominance!? Is this dominance!? This is dominance!
— Walnutdududududu! (machine gun sound)
— Proper education lol
— This is an auction or a lesson in love~
Eventually, the fundamentalists stood up with serious expressions. They probably needed a strategy meeting.